Radar System: YES or NO? - Do you really need a radar cruising the Med?

[Hurricane]

Why not keep the working Pathfinder Radar and add an AIS Transponder.
You won't be able to add AIS to the Pathfinder - AIS didn't exist when the Pathfinders were made.
But if the old Radar is working why not keep it.
There is nothing wrong with the old Pathfinder's functionality.

In the Med, it isn't about working in poor visibility - don't often get poor visibility in the Med - 17 years of cruising the Med, I've not needed Radar for bad visibility.
Contrast that to 3 years cruising the English Channel and I used it a lot.

In the Med, though, it is quite handy to spot any bad weather (rain is a good indication of bad weather) approaching and maybe dodge the worst of it.

For example, this was enough warning to get me to take the Bimini down before it hit us.

 

[Portofino]

Forgot to mention in the Med ( suspect elsewhere uk Solent ?? ) @ night it’s not other vessels it’s the pots .
Yep snagging a pot that influences your passage planning wether to or not motor at night .

I don’t think a radar , or any other screen is going to assist with this one .

 

[Sticky Fingers]

FLIR cameras could potentially see pot markers. But incredibly expensive.

 

[Alicatt]

As for AIS, Belgium is pushing boaters towards having an AIS transponder onboard their boats, over the past few years the regulations have been gradually making it easier to access port services via the VHF + AIS. Coming in January the govt. is introducing an App to submit your voyage so they can co-ordinate your needs with the rest of the sailors it becomes mandatory as of April 2026.

I have AIS +VHF onboard and it is one call to the central control, give them your ship's name and destination then the bridges and locks all operate as you get to them. Recently did a voyage from Dessel to Schoten a distance of 65km with 7 opening bridges and 10 locks to go through, from that first call the bridges and locks operated as we got to them and we had a smooth passage along that canal, without the AIS I would have had to call the central control at each bridge and lock.

 

[vas]

since no one mentioned this, another use for the radar is on longer legs at D speed (which is what I do) a radar is useful to fight boredom
where I'm travelling there's inevitable preferred routes between islands and if you're doing 7.5-8 it's quite difficult to figure out what the others around you are doing, so a radar, MARPA targeting surrounding traffic and following what they do (talking about the non-AIS ones) keeps you busy and occupied

 

[PaulRainbow]

since no one mentioned this, another use for the radar is on longer legs at D speed (which is what I do) a radar is useful to fight boredom
where I'm travelling there's inevitable preferred routes between islands and if you're doing 7.5-8 it's quite difficult to figure out what the others around you are doing, so a radar, MARPA targeting surrounding traffic and following what they do (talking about the non-AIS ones) keeps you busy and occupied

Good points. I usually have radar on all of the time, it's keeps you familiar with it's use and what the different returns might be. Anyone who only uses radar for fog is missing out on many of it's useful features.

 

[ashtead]

I guess radar might spot us warship fleets on exercise etc or fishing boats whereas AIS is not much help. Using radar in med provides nightwatch activity to see if anything large creeping up behind you

 

[Skipper Felice]

From the discussion I see that many captains prefer to have a radar on board and that real AIS transmitters are missing on smaller (older) boats.
There are some (rare) situations in the Med. that have a good need for a reliable radar system - integrated with up to date GPS navigation.
Many private yachts are going for the "free lunch" ... only AIS receiver from what gets transmitted.

For my actual situation I will keep the old, installed Raytheon/Raymarine radar with the Pathfinder HW unit (MFD 2001). Perhaps I have some situations (night, bad weather, fog etc.) and there will be good use for it.
I only have to find a way / a provider / a friend - that can support me with some old SW and chart update for the unit. On my Pathfinder, there was the last install / update 2008. I only have the charts from Spain and S of France - I have to find a usable chart for Italy (Main, central, + Sardegnia + Adria) and perhaps Croatia. Any info and hints would be welcome.

 

[Skipper Felice]

I have AIS +VHF onboard and it is one call to the central control, give them your ship's name and destination then the bridges and locks all operate as you get to them. Recently did a voyage from Dessel to Schoten a distance of 65km with 7 opening bridges and 10 locks to go through, from that first call the bridges and locks operated as we got to them and we had a smooth passage along that canal, without the AIS I would have had to call the central control at each bridge and lock.

AIS is very usefull around the Netherlands and Belgium: I remember the good time last year with a Linssen yacht, fully equiped with VHF, AIS plus radar (and I had some use for the radar with heavy traffic around Amsterdam, the Ijsselmeer and some fog) ... and AXIOM GPS integration ... your trip goes nearly automatic.

 

[Alicatt]

Our boat had radar at one time, from new, I found the main box for it behind the lower helm instrument panel, and I have a pic of the boat from back then with the radar on the arch.
We plan on putting one on for when we start to explore further from home and out on to the open water, at the moment we are only venturing about 60km to 100km from home.
My wife wants to go explore Denmark so I am building up to that.

 

[dunedin]

From the discussion I see that many captains prefer to have a radar on board and that real AIS transmitters are missing on smaller (older) boats.
There are some (rare) situations in the Med. that have a good need for a reliable radar system - integrated with up to date GPS navigation.
Many private yachts are going for the "free lunch" ... only AIS receiver from what gets transmitted.

For my actual situation I will keep the old, installed Raytheon/Raymarine radar with the Pathfinder HW unit (MFD 2001). Perhaps I have some situations (night, bad weather, fog etc.) and there will be good use for it.
I only have to find a way / a provider / a friend - that can support me with some old SW and chart update for the unit. On my Pathfinder, there was the last install / update 2008. I only have the charts from Spain and S of France - I have to find a usable chart for Italy (Main, central, + Sardegnia + Adria) and perhaps Croatia. Any info and hints would be welcome.

On the Raymarine website you should be able to find the last update version and date for the plotter software.

In terms of chart cards, it depends on what chart supplier (eg Navionics, CMap etc) and card format (eg micro SD or the older bigger CF cards).
Some of the older chart cards can’t be bought new or updated, but sometimes slightly out of date ones can be bought on eBay or similar.

 

[markc]

8 years in the Med and I've never used the radar. I keep toying with the idea of upgrading it, but always find better things to spend money on. I would say keep the one you have, you might need it, but not worth the extra 1.5k to upgrade unless you get a great package deal.

 

[PaulRainbow]

From the discussion I see that many captains prefer to have a radar on board and that real AIS transmitters are missing on smaller (older) boats.
There are some (rare) situations in the Med. that have a good need for a reliable radar system - integrated with up to date GPS navigation.
Many private yachts are going for the "free lunch" ... only AIS receiver from what gets transmitted.

For my actual situation I will keep the old, installed Raytheon/Raymarine radar with the Pathfinder HW unit (MFD 2001). Perhaps I have some situations (night, bad weather, fog etc.) and there will be good use for it.
I only have to find a way / a provider / a friend - that can support me with some old SW and chart update for the unit. On my Pathfinder, there was the last install / update 2008. I only have the charts from Spain and S of France - I have to find a usable chart for Italy (Main, central, + Sardegnia + Adria) and perhaps Croatia. Any info and hints would be welcome.

Are you fitting a new plotter ? If so, why bother with charts for the pathfinder ? You won't find anything even remotely up to date and the cards have been out of production for years.

 

[Skipper Felice]

Are you fitting a new plotter ? If so, why bother with charts for the pathfinder ? You won't find anything even remotely up to date and the cards have been out of production for years.

On our boat I have 2 systems: This old Raytheon Radar with GPS/Plotter - ok working but no CMAP chart for Italy / Sardegna / Croatia. With some old hardware I can deal with the old format cards ... I do not need a new update ... something 2014 ... 2018 would be ok.
On the fly I have a second Plotter/ GPS: Raymarine 120 C ... ok and working ... SW + Chart from around 2012 ... I can go with it but also SW + charts out of date. My real, actual chart data is on paper. But you are right: I will not spend hours of research and checking and money with some SW updating of out of date HW systems.

I think about to install a Raymarine AXIOM pro - but I do not like the Raymarine product strategy with closed, proprietary HW + SW systems. I would rather go with some kind of Open Source navigation and GPS SW. And for this (and next) season, I have more important renovation/upgrade than 4000 Euros for the Ray gadgets.

Most important thing will be a new VHF radio, Standard Horizon with DSC, AIS data receiver and integration into a NMEA bus system.

 

[PaulRainbow]

On our boat I have 2 systems: This old Raytheon Radar with GPS/Plotter - ok working but no CMAP chart for Italy / Sardegna / Croatia. With some old hardware I can deal with the old format cards ... I do not need a new update ... something 2014 ... 2018 would be ok.
On the fly I have a second Plotter/ GPS: Raymarine 120 C ... ok and working ... SW + Chart from around 2012 ... I can go with it but also SW + charts out of date. My real, actual chart data is on paper. But you are right: I will not spend hours of research and checking and money with some SW updating of out of date HW systems.

I think about to install a Raymarine AXIOM pro - but I do not like the Raymarine product strategy with closed, proprietary HW + SW systems. I would rather go with some kind of Open Source navigation and GPS SW. And for this (and next) season, I have more important renovation/upgrade than 4000 Euros for the Ray gadgets.

Most important thing will be a new VHF radio, Standard Horizon with DSC, AIS data receiver and integration into a NMEA bus system.

I would much rather buy Garmin than Raymarine.

 

[Skipper Felice]

I would much rather buy Garmin than Raymarine.

WHY ?

 

[Clash]

WHY ?

There are quite a few threads here with complaints about Raymarine quality and service. This one for example.

 

[westernman]

WHY ?

I thought Furuno were the reference for radars.

 

[dunedin]

There are quite a few threads here with complaints about Raymarine quality and service. This one for example.

My experience with Raymarine support, by contrast has been excellent. This was also more recentbthan the linked to thread.
Fast response to phone and speaking with knowledgeable expert who resolved a problem impacting a motor yacht owner i was assisting.
And repairs done quickly to broken equipment (at around 7 years old, eBay purchases).

 

[Alicatt]

I thought Furuno were the reference for radars.

They were the main rivals when I worked for Decca Radar Decca's 050 was almost a copy of the small ship Furuno back in the early 1970s